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A big challenge for impact investors is in finding investments that deliver the right social and financial returns. For social enterprises or communities seeking social investment, the challenge is: “how do we deliver a financial and social return that will satisfy investors?” Terrapin Social Finance helps build profitable relationships between impact investors and social enterprises. […]

Social Finance offers market-based alternatives to funding important social causes where investors seek both a social return as well as a financial return on their investment. Social finance in Canada is emerging with new tools ranging from micro and community loan funds to community bonds and social impact bonds, from investment cooperatives to social impact […]

Developmental lending (DL) is a straightforward and familiar form of social finance. DL involves making loans to people and organizations who cannot get financing at a bank or credit union. The three keys to developmental lending involve specialized risk assessment, steps to ensure payback and evaluating and reporting the social outcomes to all stakeholders. We […]

This past spring Terrapin with friends at Good Roots Consulting and 10C Shared Space, scanned all of the community bonds we could find in Canada. We wanted to know more about community bonds (the good, bad and ugly) and, after looking around it was clear – there is no single source or listing of community bonds in Canada for anyone contemplating this approach to raising capital. We thought to ourselves “this might be a good idea!”. Read more →

Terrapin spent a big chunk of the past year working with the Public Health Agency of Canada exploring links between social finance and public health. Action on Social Determinants of Health Through Social Finance – An Evidence Review, examines the relationship between social finance and social determinants of health in order to understand the influence each has on the other to address health and socioeconomic outcomes.

Bannock Tea and Grill, based on Siksika Nation AB, thrives thanks to the hard work of its founder Alrey Brass and financing he received from Indian Business Corporation, a developmental lender based in Calgary AB.

Drawing from published research, reports and interviews with key informants in the fields of social economy and public health, the report reviews key concepts of social finance and social determinants of health, presents evidence of the links between the two, and provides approaches on how to expand social finance to address social determinants of health in the Canadian context.

“Social Finance and Social Determinants of Health don’t exist on the same conceptual level. Social finance is one of the ways in which social determinants of health can be addressed… a way of funding interventions that can focus on upstream social determinants like poverty and social exclusion.” Michael Roy, 2017 Read more →

Indian Business Corporation maintains its commitment to impact reporting with the release of its second Social & Economic Outcomes Report

Rob Rollingson draws a simple yet powerful line between health and finance, “…without fair access to the financial system in today’s world you can’t be completely healthy. You need money to be healthy. It’s really all about income and income distribution. That’s why we’re focused on financing First Nation small businesses. With money you can eat better, dress better, feel better. Poverty is a lack of money. For us, access to capital is key to helping people move out of poverty. Without access to capital you will stay in the same spot you’re in. If you’re living an unhealthy lifestyle – you’re going to stay in that lifestyle…without access to capital.”

Rollingson is the General Manager of Calgary-based Indian Business Corporation, an Aboriginal Finance Institution with a 30 year history of making loans to the people that mainstream banking forgot. And, they are successful in getting their loans repaid 95 times out of 100. “Our losses reflect the cost of the social change we’re making”, says Rollingson. In 2018 IBC crossed the $100 Million dollar milestone in total loans made over the company’s history. Click on the photo of Lou Ann Solway, she’s a rancher from Siksika Nation in Treaty Seven Territory, to read IBC’s 2018 report on the social and economic impact of it’s lending program.

No surprise — the biggest factors shaping health are not medical or lifestyle but rather the living conditions you experience — things like access to good food, safe housing, education, etc.

Big surprise — the influence of living conditions on your health (called the social determinants of health) is mostly unfamiliar to Canadians — even after decades of research and hundreds of studies in Canada and elsewhere.

Get the Canadian Facts

Social Determinants of Health: The Canadian Facts by Juha Mikkonen and Dennis Raphael considers 14 social determinants of health including:The publication outlines why these factors are important; how Canada is doing in addressing them; and what can be done to improve their quality. The purpose of the document is to provide promote greater awareness of the social determinants of health and the development and implementation of public policies that improve their quality.

In 2018 Terrapin will work with colleagues at the Public Health Agency of Canada to establish an evidence base that links social finance to the social determinants of health resulting in a published report. It’s a small but important step that we hope will provide comparable basis on which to evaluate social outcomes arising from social finance activities.

Happy 2018

Terrapin has had a fantastic year working and travelling and learning from colleagues from North Kildonan to Nyrie Town. Thanks to all our colleagues and friends who make our work so gratifying. s & t

Wikipedia.org/wiki/Totnes tells us: Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Totnes has a long recorded history, dating back to AD907 when its first castle was built; it was already an important market town by the 12th century. Indications of its former wealth and importance are given by the number of merchants’ houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Read more →

Terrapin has been digging into the topic of payday loans lately. Our inquiry is yielding a range of interesting and often contradictory findings. We’ll have more to say about this in the near future. For now, here’s a great piece from Freakonomics Podcast based on the the US experience with payday loans. On thing to keep in mind — in the USA, the payday lending industry is approaching $40B. The Canadian industry is estimated to be closer to a $5B – $7B industry. Another detail worth mentioning — the growth in payday lending exploded after 2008 when consumer credit regulations were tightened.

A colleague of ours who runs a large community service charity in a major Canadian city was approached at Christmas time by the local payday lender association with the offer of a substantial charitable contribution. Our friend felt they must turn the gift down as so many of their clients are in a debt spiral with payday lenders. To which the donor replied “…you realize there is a market for payday loans.” This story has stayed with me as I consider the challenges many Canadians face in managing credit in the current context.

Shaun Loney is a social entrepreneur on a mission – to recruit an army to solve a world of social challenges…he just wants Government to get the heck out of the way! Shaun is on a promotional book tour for An Army of Problem Solvers – Reconciliation and the Solutions Economy which came out recently and, while I’m waiting for a copy to arrive in the mail, was pleased to hear him speak on CBC’s The Current with Anna Maria Tremonte.

Here’s a link to the interview – essential listening if you are involved in or are considering a social enterprise or, if you want to explore the relationship between First Nations reconciliation and the economy. Read more →

This blog post is in response to the recent release of Gord Downie’s The Secret Path

On October 23rd, we tuned into CBC, with millions of other Canadians, to watch Gord Downie’s The Secret Path and the discussion that followed (The Secret Path and discussion transcript can be found on CBC’s website). The Secret Path is a musical and visual portrayal of Chanie Wenjack’s attempt to find his way home after escaping from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School in Kenora, ON. He died on October 22, 1966 walking the railroad tracks, trying to reach his home and family in the remote community of Ogookiing (Ogoki Post), over 600 km to the north. He didn’t know how far away it was or how to get there, but he tried.

Indian Business Corporation (IBC), a social finance leader based in Calgary, AB recently released this collection of impact stories from its loan customers – describing the ways in which their lives have changed for the better as a result of getting a loan, starting a business, hiring family and friends, and contributing to the stability of their communities. Read more →

Alongside reports of madness, disaster and unrest, a recent edition of Canada’s Globe and Mail featured a hopeful story about a special business venture in the heart of Hamilton’s North end — on Barton Street.

In the world of currency alternatives, buttons are having impact in North Hamilton.

The 541 is gaining a reputation for its cheap, nutritious, family-friendly homemade meals. And, paying customers have an opportunity to purchase buttons, which folks without money can use to purchase a hot meal or a cup of coffee. But wait, there’s more – 541 employees earn a living wage and regular customers are given the opportunity to take a turn behind the counter, wait tables and welcome new customers. Some are getting great experience in the kitchen, which in turn helps them find paying gigs in Hamilton’s thriving restaurant sector. The café’s space and proceeds from food sales are also used to support a number of community initiatives: homework club, kitchen skills training, piano lessons, eating well workshops and more! 541 is a place of social exchange and social change – where people from all walks of life share the same access to healthy, delicious food in a welcoming, cheery space. There are no hand outs. This is a different kind of food charity – one that emphasizes dignity and equal access to the good food movement. If you can’t make it to Hamilton but like the idea you can visit their CanadaHelps.org page, buy some buttons or become a monthly donor.

Terrapin Social Finance

Our name reflects the slow, steady and determined nature of social finance.

Terrapin Social Finance mobilizes capital for the good of entrepreneurs, communities, businesses and investors:
where entrepreneurs have difficulty with financing, where a social license to operate is essential, where supply chains need local content, and where measurable social change matters.